Ambitions from the Heart
by TheDemonHuntress
Summary: The Battle City Finals are over... yet she couldn't conceal her love for the cold-hearted Seto Kaiba any longer... But what happens when she finds herself in a tournament run by a corrupt duelist, and she looks to her deepening love for support?
1. A Secret Unravels

**Ambitions From the Heart **

_Written by: TheDemonHuntress _

**Chapter 1: A Secret Unravels**

Dueling was my game. A game of domination, but also one for revealing one's weaknesses. Each and every duel was different; such was they way with duelists as well. As for strategies? They, too, reflected the style of the duelist.

After the defeat of Marik, I truly saw what a game of domination was. He had my friends bent to his will, especially Yugi. Only because I knew that Yugi would do anything for us was why he was a favorite target of Marik's.

Yugi was a true duelist. He was true to his cause, his heart, and to us, his friends. And for that, he had been led on by Marik throughout the Battle City Finals.

But at last, through all of our efforts, the evil was vanquished from Marik. Even Kaiba had helped, who I once thought to be too 'high and mighty' to help anyone.

True, even Kaiba had changed. The immensely handsome 17-year old had lightened up a bit, straying from his selfish ways for as much as a moment. He still secluded himself from us, but the more that he did, the more that I felt myself attracted to the heartless duelist.

"WHAT?!" Mai nearly screamed as I told her this. "No, no, Belinda… You are not falling for that freak!"

"Shush!" I covered Mai's mouth as she continued to struggle. "And it's not really anything! He's just cute, that's all…"

"Tea-" Mai began, but thought better of it. Tea came over anyhow, from another table in the café that the whole gang was at.

"Yea, Mai?" Tea asked uncertainly.

"I think our friend here is confused… she claims to be falling for Mr. Freak…"

"Mai!" I shouted. "I am not falling in love with him!"

I looked over at Tea exasperatingly. "I told Mai-" I glared at her, "-that I thought Kaiba was cute."

Something told me that Tea felt exactly the same way as Mai about this. But I knew that 'friendship girl' was not about to exactly hurt my feelings.

"That's great!" Tea said a bit too enthusiastically. But her tone suddenly changed: "Great to like a jerk…"

I was shocked, almost angry that my friends could not understand that I only thought of Kaiba as being cute.

"**GUYS, I DO NOT LIKE HIM!**" That was enough to make several heads turn, not to mention Joey Wheeler's. I smiled uneasily as I heard an old lady mutter, "Young love, I guess…"

"Sorry…" Mai mumbled. "Just makes for… interesting news!" And with that, she and Tea dashed off to Yugi's table, with no doubt on my mind about what they were off to do. I could not believe it.

I would've rushed after them, if only Mr. CEO-of-his-own-company didn't show up at that exact moment. No, of course, he wasn't going to sit down and have a cup of coffee. He had better things to do than that. But he just passed by on the street, carrying a briefcase with him and his little brother Mokuba following him. He looked so divine in his flashy silver trench coat with all black underneath. His hair was cut short in the back, but in the front it fell as bangs that gently shaded his eyes. The only thing missing from him was that dueling disk that everyone had worn for so long during Battle City. Obviously, he would be working on a new prototype by now…

My eyes followed him down the street as his trench coat billowed out from behind him. No matter how attractive he was, I also couldn't forget about how he was cold-hearted. He had a heart of ice, that is. Devoid of all emotions, he did only things that would benefit either himself or his brother, who was the only being that he cared about. Still, I found myself dangerously attracted by his extremely good looks.

As Kaiba passed out of my sight, I returned to the real world. Seeing that I was alone at my table, I decided to go over to Yugi's table to find out what damage Mai and Tea had already done.

As I sat down at the table, I realized how unnaturally quiet it was. Joey was always talking about how he would defeat Kaiba in a duel someday. Yugi was always telling him to calm down. And Tristan was always talking about Serenity. So right now, quiet was not an option.

"Guys…" I began, "It's okay…"

"Actually, it's not…" Mai said, "You're falling for some freak that doesn't care about anything!"

As if that was anything new. I looked over at Yugi, who looked confused and unsure about what to say. It would probably be better if he didn't say anything at all, I thought.

Joey looked sheepish. "We're talkin' about Moneybags, Belinda. How can ya even think anythin' about tha rich boy when **he** doesn't care for anythin'?"

"Look, I don't know!" I said. "I just think that he's cute."

Both Joey and Tristan's eyes popped out. Then they turned their backs and laughed hysterically. But after a few moments, Tristan asked, "Wait… you're serious?"

I sighed and put my head down on the table. "No, I'm lying," I muttered.

"What about you, Yugi?" Mai asked. "Any comments?"

I hated to see Yugi put in such an uncomfortable spot, especially when no one's opinion really mattered to me anymore. Yugi simply shook his head, and I was grateful.

"So what diya guys wanna do?" Joey asked, breaking the silence. "Wanna go down to Duelist Corner?"

A hearty approval followed, and we were whisked away to a designated area in Domino City where duelists from anywhere met to show their stuff.

We all met at the water fountain and decided to meet back in an hour or so. Yugi and Tristan went off with Joey, who looked to be dancing a new 'dance of pride'.

"Are you guys going to tag along or what?" I asked Tea and Mai.

"You go by yourself," Mai replied. "We've got some unfinished business to settle…" She and Tea walked off towards Rex Raptor, whom they were obviously looking for. As soon as Mai approached him, hearts sprouted from his eyes, and I sighed, as I knew that he was going to lose because of that.

As for me, I found myself alone for a while. I wasn't quite looking for a duel, so I just found myself sitting on a bench outside Yugi's grandfather's shop.

And I saw him again. Kaiba was with Mokuba again, only this time they were looking into Kaiba's briefcase not too far away from me. I caught Mokuba's look of delight as he saw me watching him. I had always been fond of the little kid who, despite his brother's influence, had a big heart. He looked away as he talked to his brother for a while about something possibly having to do with me. I saw Kaiba glare at me with those icy eyes. The gaze was so penetrating that I almost wanted to look away. The two talked a bit more, until it looked as if Kaiba gave in and Mokuba came over to me.

"Hey there," I greeted him.

"Hey!" he said. "My big brother has something to show ya!"

This I was surprised about. I half didn't believe him, but I let the little guy lead me to his brother, who did not look pleased at all with the prospect.

Kaiba maintained his favorite emotionless expression as I stood before him. It actually was the closest that I had ever been to him, after all of these months.

"Show her your new prototype, Seto!" Mokuba exclaimed. Sometimes I wondered how anyone around Kaiba could cheer him up. But it was hard to not like the fun, cute personality of Mokuba.

"You're gonna like it a lot!" Mokuba added as his eyes lit up when his brother reached over to his briefcase.

As for myself, I didn't know if I belonged here right now. In fact, if it weren't for my friendship with Mokuba, I would have surely not appeared here before Mr. President.

"It's the latest revolution in dueling technology," Kaiba announced, and I could actually sense a swelling of pride in his voice. "I call it the DuelPort."

He removed a sort of machine from his briefcase. It looked to be a rectangle; only I saw hinges on it that probably would fold out to become something larger.

"The DuelPort is smaller than the duel disk, for transportation efficiency," Kaiba droned on in his cold voice. "The hologram projectors shoot out from the sides-" He pushed a button, and two projectors flew out from two sides, coming to rest on the ground far way.

"You place your deck in this compartment-" He pushed a green button labeled 'Load' and looked up at me.

He wants my deck, I thought. I reluctantly handed it to him, and he placed it in the machine, where it was automatically shuffled.

"In case you might misplace a card, there is a scanning system to record the cards in your deck. Since there is no way to have more or less that 60 cards in your deck, the system will only record your current deck until you update it." He took the top card of my deck and found it to be Kuriboh. He sneered, and then scanned it into the system.

"During a duel, your opponent's playing field and life points will be shown on this screen-" he flipped up the screen which showed a Kuriboh card, "and your cards are put on the bottom surface."

"So whadaya think?" Mokuba piped up, clearly impressed by his big brother's work.

Kaiba's new system really did blow me away. It was simple to use, and it was small enough to transport anywhere.

"It's great!" I smiled and looked at Kaiba, only to see him return a smirk. I narrowed my eyes.

"Yea! It's gonna be the best!" Mokuba continued on enthusiastically. "My big brother always makes the best things!"

Kaiba actually smiled as he ruffled his little brother's hair. "C'mon, let's go, Mokuba."

He stood up and returned my deck to me. "I thank you for your time, but it wasn't needed," he said in any icy tone.

And with that, he took up his briefcase with Mokuba following him, who was oblivious to his brother's cold remark.

I almost felt broken after hearing that… if only Kaiba hadn't stolen a piece of my heart with him when he walked away.

_Please review! Chapter Two is coming up in a few days!_


	2. Duelist Corner

Author's Note: The duel that takes place in this chapter was actually done in real life between a friend and I, with me writing while the duel took place.

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**Ambitions from the Heart**

**__**

_Written by: TheDemonHuntress_

**Chapter 2: Duelist Corner**

I almost felt broken after seeing Kaiba walk away again, but his comment stung, and found its way to my heart. Yugi, Tristan, and Joey were nowhere to be seen. Mai and Tea were off in the distance, dragging a disheveled-looking Rex after them.

I wasn't one to seek out duels. Rather, I waited for challenges. I took out my deck, one that I had assembled out of my most powerful cards. _Don't worry, Kuriboh,_ I reassured the card. _You belong there._

As if my wishes were answered, I felt a hand grab my shoulder. I turned around to see a duelist who appeared to be a biker. I felt uncomfortable as he looked me up and down and smiled. "Hey babe," he said. "Up for a duel against Rocky?"

I snorted and pushed his hand away from me. "I'm not your babe, but I will duel you." He looked to be a bluffer, as he seemed to be holding a pile of cards and randomly selected sixty cards from it.

"First-timer, aren't you?" I asked as I prepared my duel disk.

He laughed uneasily as he attempted to hide his pile of cards. "Not this one." I could hear him struggle to keep a straight face.

We stood apart from one another as our hologram projectors flew out_. This is going to be a pushover,_ I thought.

"I say that if I win, you have to kiss me!" he shouted.

I laughed to myself as I saw him fumbling with his duel disk. He probably doesn't even know how to use it…

"I agree, but I can assure you that this will be a fast duel!" I replied.

The biker smiled. "Let's duel!"

4000 life points were input, and the duel began.

"I'll go first," he said. "I put one monster in defense mode, and I place one card facedown. And then I'll activate Dian Keto the Cure Master before I end my turn."

Maybe he is a duelist after all… at least he has some rare cards…

I smiled once I saw my hand. Although I had no Trap cards, I held some powerful monsters and magic cards.

"I summon Hysteric Fairy, and I'll have it attack your face-down monster!"

The image of a Guardian of the Throne Room appeared, before it shattered.

"I place one card facedown," I said. "Your turn."

He drew a card as he played Monster Reborn on his Guardian of the Throne Room, and then equipped it with 7 Completed. He then activated Robbin' Goblin and, just as he attacked, I was down to 3450 life points. To make matters worse, I was forced to discard my Warrior Dai Grepher.

I continued by placing one card facedown and one monster in defense mode.

"Going on the defensive now?" Rocky taunted.

I simply smiled. "Don't let your comments get to your brain."

He placed a monster in defense mode before my face down card worried him, and he ended his turn.

Although he didn't attack, he did fall into my trap. My facedown card was not a Trap card at all, but it would keep my opponent wary. I put one monster in defense mode, and another card facedown before ending my turn. He's biding me too much time, I thought.

However, he did not stop his onslaught. He placed a card facedown and summoned Jinzo #7, attacking me directly.

By now, my opinion about this Rocky had changed, as I was losing the duel. It was time to change that around.

I summoned 7 Colored Fish to the field, and attacked his Jinzo #7 with it. I then activated Just Desserts, and Rocky was down to 1200 life points.

I've seen many duelists lose their composure when they've taken a sudden turn for the worse in a duel. This Rocky guy was one of them.

He regained his footing as he activated Solemn Wishes. He placed another monster facedown as he attacked my 7 Colored Fish with his Guardian of the Throne Room. It was 1200 to 2900 life points. But with his Robbin' Goblin' in play, I lost my Hane-Hane.

Now I had only two monsters and a facedown card. I drew Tremendous Fire and used it, leaving our life points at 200 to 2400. It was all that I could do, so I ended my turn.

I had to get rid of Rocky's Solemn Wishes card, which left his life points now at 700. He put another monster facedown before he destroyed my Sangan.

That opened up a new door for me, since many of my monster cards were Effect monsters with low attack points. The card that I just selected would push things in my favor.

"The duel's just about to end, Rocky!" I told the duelist who thought that he would win.

"I summon Servant of Catabolism and attack your life points directly!" My monster card had just enough attack points to take out Rocky's remaining 700 life points.

"WHAT?!" he shouted. "I was winning… you couldn't even stop my Guardian of the Throne Room!"

"I didn't have to, Rocky…" I replied. "Like you said, I went on defense, and instead decreased your life points by using cards that would do direct damage to you."

My explanation still wasn't enough for Rocky. Geez, the guy couldn't handle a loss!

But he finally quit his complaining after due time.

"Well… good duel," he managed to say. "I guess you'll be wanting something?"

"Nah," I said. I packed up my things and bade him farewell before heading into the direction of where Mai and Tea had gone.

Sure enough, I found Mai and Rex in the middle of a duel. Somehow, I could imagine that Rex had been forced to duel, because he looked like a tortured soul at the moment.

"Hey Belinda!" Mai shouted as I came across the duel.

"Hey Mai, having fun?" I asked as it looked as if she was dominating the duel.

"Of course," she replied. "Now we've got three girls to make fun of Rex here…"

I could've sworn that Rex blushed. But he quickly hid his face and shouted, "It's your turn!"

Mai looked at him slowly. "I know," she said. "Maybe you want to survive a bit longer?"

"So…" I whispered to Tea, "Mai's winning, right?"

"Yep," she answered. "He seems to be holding back on her, or he really isn't the duelist that I take him to be."

It was no matter. Turns out that Tea and Mai were right- Mai ended up winning the duel over a disbelieving Rex.

An hour from when we had first split up at the water fountain, we all found ourselves together again. Joey was talking about some incredible duel he had, with Tristan reminding him of all the details he had missed. Yugi was caught between the two guys, who were now arguing about how badly Joey beat the other duelist.

"You've come really far as a duelist, Joey," Yugi ended up saying. "But there's always-"

"Didja hear that, Tristan?" Joey asked, pulling off one of his jerk-smirks. "Even Yug here says that I'm good! I know I'm betta than that Moneybags, too!"

"Calm down, Joey…" Mai said with a delicate touch on his shoulder. "At least we know that you beat the guy fair and square."

She had chosen her words carefully, and they worked. This time, hearts sprouted from Joey's eyes, and I didn't listen to any of his following babble.

"So what'd you do, Belinda?" Tea asked as we were all calmed down.

"Well, I won a duel against this biker guy…" I said, remembering what had happened the past hour. "Oh yea! I also saw Kaiba again."

"Again?" Mai asked with a mischievous tone.

"No, nothing happened," I replied, knowing Mai's invisible question. "Not anything having to do with him, but he's made a new sort of duel disk."

"Really?" Joey interrupted. "These things are startin' to hurt my arm afta wearin' them all tha time… so what's it like?" He nudged his duel disk impatiently.

"It's actually sorta like a laptop," I said. "Only it's a lot smaller, and you can hold it in your hand. But basically, it works the same way, with some new features."

"Sounds cool enough, eh, Yug?" Joey elbowed Yugi a bit harder than intended.

"Yea," Yugi replied. "Maybe he's setting up for another tournament?"

"I doubt it," I said. "I think that he was a bit embarrassed after losing in his own tournament last time… maybe he's got better things to do, like working on his company?"

Joey laughed. "If that's any reason, I think tha' rich boy is realizin' how I get closer to beatin' him every time… next time I face him, he'll be sorry he eva called me a mutt!" He clenched his fist in the air threateningly, while Mai and I sighed.

So after Joey finished his bragging speech that I'm sure all of us have heard one time or another, we headed off down the street, before I saw one of Kaiba's company buildings loom in the distance to the right of me.

Perhaps it was impulse, but I took a furtive glance in that direction, and saw none other than Kaiba standing in front of the building. And he actually _smirked _at me before he went inside the massive building.

"I saw that," Mai whispered.

All I could do was nod, as I was left confused once again about the duelist who showed up near me the more than I wished to see him.

_Review, as always..._


	3. An Unexpected Visitor

**Ambitions from the Heart**

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_Written by: TheDemonHuntress_

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**Chapter3: An Unexpected Visitor**

Once the whole gang returned from their duels and was reunited, we decided to visit Yugi's grandpa's shop.

As I walked into the shop, which I hadn't been in for a while, the color blue greeted my eyes. It was everywhere: on the walls, the ceiling, the shelves, and even the counter. I was forced to remember Grandpa's Blue-Eyes White Dragon card. It had blue eyes. And it was blue.

"Helloooo!" Joey called out while the rest of us stood around the counter. It usually wasn't common for Grandpa to leave the shop unattended.

But he appeared from the backroom, polishing a collector's box.

"Hello," he greeted us all, not expecting us to have visited him. "How are you all today?"

"Fine," Yugi replied. "We just came back from dueling."

Grandpa nodded with approval. "It's a fine day for dueling, with the Battle City Finals over now."

It was true, that dueling seemed to be less stressful with Battle City being over.

There were no more evil threats or constant duels, so there was time to relax. I personally was not looking forward to any more tournaments soon.

"Uh… grandpa?" Yugi asked, looking somewhat nervous. "When'd you get the shop painted?"

"Ah, while you were still in the Battle City Finals," Grandpa answered. "You know that my favorite color is blue… do you think I overdid it?"

An uneasy silence followed. But I spoke up, saying, "Err… no. It's beautiful!"

At once, the rest of the gang agreed verbally or silently. I could not hurt the old man's feelings, so it was nice to see him beaming at our comments, although I did feel quite guilty as well.

That afternoon was spent freely, with the boys checking out their decks, while Mai and Tea had the freedom of questioning me further about Kaiba. But it wasn't their new prototype that they were asking me about. It was about the real deal: Kaiba himself.

"So you say that you saw him three times today…" Mai began. "I'd say that's a lot of encounters with a president of his own company…"

I despaired at Mai's knowledge of the situation. "Mai, I'm not trying to meet up with him! I never said that I liked him! Because I don't! And Battle City is over… I'm not going to see him much anymore."

Mai didn't answer, because at that moment, the front door opened, and a guy walked in.

He wasn't any ordinary customer, though. I had seen him many times before, but not in the Battle City Finals.

His name was Andrew, and he, just like Kaiba, owned his own company in Japan. Only his company, eHawk, was the largest rival company of Kaiba Corp. So naturally, it only made sense that Andrew was also one of Kaiba's rivals in Duel Monsters. But besides being Kaiba's rival, he was also Yugi's.

Today, he entered with an air of dignity around him. He was only 16 years old, yet he commanded so much respect for one so young. He wore a black coat and black pants, to match with flashy black shoes. Everything about him was polished to the very finest. Sunglasses concealed light brown eyes, which were like dazzling jewels. He kept his brown hair short, so that it just barely grazed the top of his tall collar. He was a fashionable, yet intimidating figure.

"I thought I would find you here," Andrew began, removing his sunglasses. "If you weren't in Duelist Corner…"

Yugi smiled. "Hiya, Andrew."

"The whole gang's here…" Andrew noticed, having a look around the shop, and resting his eyes on Mai. "Good to see you here," he added, warming up as he nodded his head towards Tea and I.

Joey looked pretty jealous at that moment as he asked furiously, "Eh, and what're you doin' here anyway?"

Andrew directed his attention to Joey. "I was only looking for Yugi, in case he wanted to duel me. I wasn't looking for any competition…" And he gave a rich laugh, one that echoed within the confinements of the store.

"I think that you'll be the one running out of luck!" Joey pulled out his deck and challenged Andrew.

"You will get your turn," Andrew said hastily. He turned to Yugi. "So, Yugi? What'll it be?"

I could see Yugi hesitating with the decision, as we had just settled down in Grandpa's shop, which we hadn't visited in at least a month. To leave now would surely upset the old man.

"Go, Yugi." Grandpa surprised me as he laid his hand on Yugi's shoulder understandingly.

"I don't want to leave you so soon, Grandpa…" Yugi stated.

"Just to see you with all of your friends has been enough for me," Grandpa replied. "You have fun dueling."

"Thanks, Grandpa," Yugi said with a hug. "I promise we'll be back soon."

Andrew smiled, but then his face contorted into a frown as we exited the shop. "Hopefully you won't be as good as Kaiba…"

"Oh? And why's that?" Joey asked with a tease.

"If you must know," Andrew continued, "I just dueled him and came within a fraction of beating him."

"Not that jerk…" Tea muttered.

"But it was," Andrew said almost sadly. "He gets better with every duel."

Even as I watched Yugi and Andrew's duel progress, I was wary of Andrew's attitude. Being one's rival didn't expect you to be friendly with them, and it most certainly didn't require it.

Andrew was a competitive duelist. If there were someone else to compare him to, then I'd say that he vaguely resembled Kaiba at times. Andrew did not interact much with people, and he never quite got along even lines with Yugi. So this sudden… change over him was surprising. Not to say that it was genuine, though.

I snuck up on Mai and landed a question: "So you're on a little bit better than good terms with Andrew?"

She shoved me aside. "Now _that_ really is nothing." Her voice and expression were so serious that I didn't doubt her. "So what if he thinks differently?"

Perhaps it was true. Andrew was that kind of secretive guy. He needed to keep his secrets- like his company's information secret from Kaiba- or else he might as well stop dreaming of one day overpowering Kaiba Corp.

I sensed that the duel was nearing its end. Yugi had his Dark Magician out on the field, while Andrew's Gate Guardian had just been destroyed. One more attack and Andrew was done for.

And so it did happen. Suffering two defeats in a row was not something that Andrew was used to. The poor guy slumped to his knees and let his cards flutter to the ground in front of him, something a duelist was taught not to do. It was almost considered dishonorable.

"How did I lose… again?" Andrew cried with despair. "My strategy was working… I had my Gate Guardian out…"

Losing to both of your rivals in back-to-back duels was disappointing. But Kaiba and Yugi were top-ranked duelists. Maybe Andrew was setting his expectations too high…

"There are more aspects to dueling than strategy," the spirit of the pharaoh replied. "You must also believe in and trust in the heart of the cards."

"What kind of advice is that?" Andrew asked angrily. "I've heard that thousands of times from you! It's probably a lie-a lie that you made up!"

He picked up his cards and stormed away furiously. And he seemed really angry, or upset.

"What was that all about?" I asked at last. "Looks like someone's temper got the better of him…"  
"Hmm… ever since when did you become a bully, Yugi?" a cold voice sounded from behind him.

I turned around, and to my joy and dismay, I saw Mr. President of Kaiba Corp. Only this time, he was alone.

"Just because that freak went crazy doesn't mean that Yug is a bully, rich boy!" Joey retorted.

"Oh, it's the mutt," Kaiba said indifferently. "Maybe it was your vicious barking that scared him away?"

"As a matter of fact, it was," Joey replied proudly. "No, wait… no it wasn't!"

Kaiba gave an evil-as-hell smirk. "They say that dogs aren't as smart as humans, Wheeler. You'd be the perfect example of that."

That last comment left Joey just fuming. I knew better than to let him argue any further with Kaiba.

I pulled him back and warned Kaiba, "Stop it with the dog jokes."

"Perhaps your mediocre friends don't even deserve a pet mutt like you," Kaiba replied, glaring at me with those twin icicles he had for eyes. I returned his gaze, but trembled. Out of fear or beauty, I wouldn't know.

Just ask quickly as he appeared, Kaiba left. His encounters were always brief, although I wished for a deviation from the normal routine.

"Damn it," Joey said. "I could've got him!"

"Save it, man," Tristan said.

We walked away that day feeling rather confused about Andrew's abrupt departure. Although never considered friends, Yugi and Andrew never did hate each other, either.

But the little voice in the back of my head insisted that I would meet up with Andrew again. Only he wouldn't be quite as happy when that next time came.


	4. The Onslaught of Friendship

**Ambitions from the Heart**

_Written by: TheDemonHuntress_

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**Chapter 4: The Onslaught of Friendship**

"He called you 'mediocre', you know," Mai said as we brushed through the city docks on a warm sunny afternoon. How often did the topic of Mr. President have to come up? I knew that Mai was trying to get me to crack under her pressure.

"He's not exactly the nicest guy around," I admitted. "And he hardly knows me- I don't really even know him, either."

"Listen, we can get that worked out," Mai suggested. "Like actually getting you two to talk…"

My eyes widened and I stopped walking abruptly. "Not another one of your plans… you want to force him to talk to me?"

"Well, if there isn't any other way…"

"There had better be," I said almost fearfully. "Because I'm not letting you do that."

"I _will_ think about it," Mai said as she began to walk away. "You'll find out sooner or later!"

_Great,_ I thought. I just let Mai get away with some evil plan of death. I remembered one of her plans that she designed for Tristan in order for Serenity to know how he felt about her. The result of that plan was Serenity thinking that Tristan was a freak. I couldn't even imagine what would happen now.

I caught up with Yugi and Joey later that day, letting them know what Mai had in store for me. Yugi just shrugged; Joey laughed.

Joey had some rather 'exciting' news- he and Kaiba worked out a duel in an hour. Apparently Mai had also caught word of this- no doubt off to tell Tea as well.

Meanwhile, inside Belinda's room… 

"Are you sure this is going to work?" Tea asked Mai uncertainly as the two girls were sifting through a rather messy room.

"How does she find anything in here?" Mai asked incredulously. "And yes, it will work. I know all the aspects of the plan!"

"Is this it?" Tea asked tentatively, holding up a box with only one hand. But she looked inside and found a moldy sandwich instead. "Ew- yuck, this isn't it…" She tossed the box into a corner.

"Aha!" Mai shouted triumphantly. And indeed there was reason to be triumphant. The two girls had survived searching through an extremely disorganized room that was filled with… stuff.

Tea sat down next to Mai, although it was hard to find somewhere to sit that wasn't occupied by other things. Mai handed Tea a pile of cards, while taking one for herself.

"These, Tea, are what we have been searching for," Mai said.

"But for what?" Tea asked as she looked through the Duel Monster cards.

"My ingenious plan, of course," Mai replied. "Just look for a card that looks cute- like something having to do with love."

"How about this?" Tea smiled as she showed Mai a Ryu-Kishin Powered card.

"Tea, be serious!" Mai said. "We might not have much time- who knows when she might come here?"

"Okay, okay!" Tea responded. "I still don't know what we're doing this for…"

"You will know soon enough." Mai took up another card pile, and immediately began searching through it.

"This, then," Tea said as she showed Mai a card.

"This is perfect!" Mai exclaimed as she took it. "Tea, you came through! Any duelist would think the same thing when they look at this card!"

It was the Tenderness card, a fairy-like monster that celebrated love between couples.

"So now can you tell me what this is all about?" Tea asked.

"Oh- yea, right…" Mai replied. "_We_ are going to put this card into Kaiba's deck, where he will have to see it. You see, with Kaiba's new prototype, it'll let him know that there's an extra card in his deck before he duels Joey. That way, he'll probably look through his deck and find it! Even he's gonna know what it means…"

"Omigosh, Mai…" Tea protested. "We don't even know if she likes him!"

"Well… she will. We've just got to make it obvious that she'll be the one that he thinks about… it'll work, trust me. Just right now, let's worry about how to get this into his deck…"

Tea sighed. "Somehow I don't think that this will quite work…"

"Hey… what's this…?" Mai asked, as Tea was about to walk out the bedroom.

"What's what?" Tea asked, somewhat annoyed.

"This," Mai replied, closing the door of the bedroom before Tea could walk out.

What Mai's eyes caught behind the door to Belinda's room was a poster from a magazine. It had a picture of no one else but Kaiba himself in his trench coat, the poster announcing the beginning of Battle City a while ago.

"Can you believe she sleeps with this on her wall?" Mai asked, shocked.

"Forget that," Tea said. "Think about how long it's been up here!"

"I wonder if she keeps a diary?" Mai wondered.

"NO, Mai," Tea replied blankly. She pushed Mai out of the room. "It's bad enough that we busted into her room…"

In Duelist Corner… 

I was still worried about Mai's plan at the time Joey and Kaiba's duel was approaching. What were she and Tea doing in the past hour? I hadn't seen either of them since Mai had put her plan into action. Meanwhile, I was waiting for Joey and Kaiba's duel to begin.

"That creep better not be late!" Joey shouted impatiently as the time of the duel came and passed. And there was still no indication that Kaiba was coming, either.

"He'll be here," I reassured him. "He wouldn't back out of a duel that he accepted."

Suddenly, Mai and Tea appeared from a street corner. They were very suspicious at the moment to me. But they still walked towards me as if they hadn't done anything.

"Where have you guys been?" I asked once they approached.

"We were out… shopping." Mai's eyes darted around the city.

"Oh, really." I looked at my two friends skeptically. "What about your plan, then? I don't see any shopping bags with you."

"Don't be so silly," Tea said a bit nervously. "We- we dropped them off at the game shop."

"Uh-huh." I decided not to push the discussion any further; I wouldn't get any answers out of Tea or Mai.

"Whah!" Joey shouted out from down the street.

The reason for his sudden shout became clear as a ladder fell down from the sky, coming out of a helicopter. It also became evident whom it was that was coming down, as the letters 'KC' came into view on it.

Kaiba landed neatly on the ground next to Joey, despite his hold on his heavy suitcase. I looked around and was infuriated to see that Mai and Tea had both again disappeared. My God, what were they up to?

"It's good to see that you didn't back out, Wheeler," Kaiba said as he caught his breath. "Are you ready to humiliate yourself?"

"Actually, I thought that it was you wantin' to back out, Moneybags!" Joey retorted. "I mighta died if ya waited any longer!"

"Oh, that's unfortunate," Kaiba replied in an icy tone. He then smirked. "I'll be sure to go those few extra minutes next time."

"Kaiba, you are goin' down!" Joey shouted.

"Joey, calm down," I said. But in restraining him, I didn't realize that Kaiba's briefcase had disappeared from the sidewalk where he had left it.

Mokuba, too, jumped from the helicopter ladder before it flew off.

I talked a bit with Mokuba, and he explained his brother's delay because of a company issue. Meanwhile, Kaiba introduced Joey to his new DuelPort, as the briefcase suddenly appeared as well.

As soon as everyone settled down, Joey began the duel by yelling across the street to Kaiba, "Let's duel!"

But before the duel could begin, Kaiba's DuelPort began to beep uncontrollably.

"Tryin' ta cheat, Moneybags?" Joey taunted. "At least I play fair!"

Kaiba scowled. "It's only prolonging your defeat, Wheeler."

What _was_ wrong? I thought. Kaiba took out his deck and shuffled through the cards, since the DuelPort had indicated that he was holding more than 60 cards. Maybe an extra card got mixed in…

Oh, if only that had been the case… I looked over at Tea and Mai, only to find them holding in their breath. So was this part of Mai's plan?

Immediately, Kaiba found the problem. He took out the card in question and seemed to be inspecting it very closely. But nothing could prepare me for what happened next. After giving one good look at the card, he looked across at me.

_Why me? What did I have to do with that card?_ I was perplexed as much as he was.

"C'mon, Moneybags!" Joey yelled impatiently. "Jus' take out the card an' let's go!"

"There seems to be a problem, mutt," Kaiba replied, finally taking his eyes off me.

"Well, get over it, rich boy. You're wastin' time!"

Right now, I was very worried about what the whole fuss over that card was. So I decided to question Tea and Mai.

"Mai, Tea, this isn't funny," I said as the duel began. "What the hell did you guys do?"

Mai laughed, and Tea was looking nervous.

"Well, I told you that we would get you to talk to him, right?" Mai answered. "After my plan is complete, he absolutely will…

"You see that card that Kaiba just took out of his deck? That, hun, is not a card from his deck at all. Let's just say that it's… yours. And he will definitely talk to you…"

Mai wasn't kidding. Tea looked as if she was regretting whatever they had done.

I tried to keep myself calm about the situation.

"Ok, so then how did you get that card?" I asked. "And what is it"?

"Tenderness, Belinda, tenderness," Tea replied. "We kinda went in your room to get it… but we found something interesting in there, too."

I knew that my room was messy, but what else could they have found? Then it dawned on me. Oh no… not the Kaiba poster! Even my mom never saw it, since it was behind the door!

"You guessed right," Mai said, taking note of my fearful expression. "None other than Kaiba himself hanging up in your room!"

"Guys, I only put that up be because I was excited about Battle City!" I tried to explain by lying. "The poster's not supposed to be about him!"

"Suuure…" Tea glanced at me awkwardly. "So exactly how long have you thought that Mr. Jerk is cute?"

I sighed. Of course they could see behind my lies. The duel was coming to a pretty nasty end for Joey, so I decided to at least to let my friends know the truth before I died talking with Mr. CEO.

"He's been cute since Battle City first begun," I admitted.

"That's interesting," Mai stated. "It's been a pretty long time, then…"

Tea glanced behind my shoulder at the duel. "Uh… Mai… we should get going…"

The two girls ran in the opposite direction, which told me that they were running away from something behind me. Soon, I would find out what that was…


	5. An Unexpected Invitation

**Ambitions from the Heart**

****

_Written by: TheDemonHuntress_

__

**Chapter 5: An Unexpected Invitation**

"I see that you've got some pretty unreliable friends there," came a voice that chilled me to the bone, although I knew what to expect. I turned around anyway, and found myself facing the man that I admired, yet feared, watching a terrified Tea and Mai disappear in the distance.

"That card I found in my deck before the duel struck me as being very curious," Kaiba continued. "Do you know why?"

"No," I lied. _Someone get me away from him!_

He looked at my face, which was blushing, with growing interest. "Well then, I will tell you why. It was the _Tenderness_ card, a card that is _not_ in my deck.

"But what was more interesting than how it got in my deck was the note that was on it. I suppose you also don't know what that said?"

"No…" I whispered. Mai and Tea were not even on my mind right now. Whatever they had done would cost me.

Kaiba's smirk got bigger. "It said, 'Tenderness is for lovers!' And then it had an arrow pointing to you, Miss Lee."

I gulped. So Mai's plans were infallible after all… What the heck was I supposed to tell him?

"I… uh…" What I was trying to say was that I had nothing to do with the card. I didn't even know anything about this plan until it was too late! But Kaiba's icy demeanor frightened me. His blue eyes lay transfixed on me, and he did not seem very happy at the moment. Well, the guy actually never was.

"What you're trying to tell me," Kaiba said, "Is that you have no idea what I'm talking about. I find that very amusing…

"Look, I don't want you or your idiotic friends interfering with me again. So I'd suggest that you stay out of my way and tell your friends to stop being morons."

He threw the Tenderness card at me none too gently and was off again, packing up his DuelPort.

Mokuba, who had apparently overheard our conversation, walked over towards me. I knew that he was probably going to apologize for his brother's behavior, which he noticed at last to not be normal. But I was beyond comforting now. What Kaiba had just told me was that my friends were worthless. I was worthless.

"Hey…" Mokuba began to say, but stopped there when he truly saw how affected I was by Kaiba's cold remarks.

"Hi," I said back. I didn't make an effort to look up at him. There was nothing that the little kid could do to cheer me up. I hadn't even done anything wrong to Kaiba, and because of Tea and Mai's dumb plan, he was blaming this all on me!

"I'm sorry about what my brother said," he stated after a while. But it wasn't like Mokuba to say anything negative about his brother, whom he looked to for anything.

"Mokuba," I said as I let him sit next to me on the sidewalk, "Don't be sorry for whatever your brother does. It's his actions, not yours."

"Hmm…" he said with a bit of thought. "I guess I'll see you later then…"

He ran off after his brother, again lugging a large briefcase after him. After catching up with his brother, he began to talk to him quietly. But I didn't want sympathy from Mokuba, despite the fact that he was probably the only person that could change Kaiba.

I met up with Yugi, Joey, and Tristan after that extremely upsetting encounter, since I didn't know what would happen if I saw either Mai or Tea.

But I knew that I would meet up with one of them eventually. Just that I didn't know that they would be hiding from me.

And I finally did find them both at the water fountain. They looked like as if they were nervous… or was it scared? I couldn't tell when they hid their faces from me.

I sat down next to them. With my mixed emotions of sadness and anger, I didn't know what would happen if I began to talk first.

"I'm sorry…" Mai began in a tone that was hardly recognizable for someone like her. For once, she didn't sound quite so happy.

"So you heard?" I asked, trying to hide the quaver in my voice.

"Yes." Tea obviously did not approve of her and Mai's eavesdropping.

"Well, I hope that you're happy that Kaiba now thinks I'm an idiot." I couldn't direct my anger towards Mai, not while she looked so down.

Tea didn't reply. But I could read an unspoken feeling of regret from her and Mai.

I sighed, and tried to enlighten myself. "Guys, don't worry about it. I never did say that I liked him, right?"

Mai managed a smile. "No, you didn't."

"Then what are we all getting mad or sad over?" Even as I said those words, I knew that I was still upset over Kaiba.

Again no one responded. But I dragged both of my friends to settle down over some ice cream. A friendship ended over love is a very weak friendship indeed.

The next week passed by in a blur. Perhaps it was because I was overjoyed about how Mai acted even nicer to me than before. But she only remained that way once she knew that I was no longer upset at her.

I even managed to avoid anymore ugly encounters with Mr. CEO. I still met up with Mokuba quite often, though. But I did not ask him about how his brother felt; it would seem awkward to question him about that, even if he would answer my questions. Kaiba probably didn't even talk to him about that kind of stuff.

So it seemed that my life was returning to normal again, before I met up with Kaiba all of those times.

But I could see the restlessness in the gang when it came to dueling. The Duelist Corner obviously was not settling the desire of some duelists.

And then the solution to our problems came. It came in the form of mail- for Yugi, Joey, Mai, and I.

At first I was shocked to read the mail that contained news of a new dueling tournament. But my surprise turned to relief as I realized how bored the whole gang was. At least now we would be occupied.

What was mysterious about the invitation, though, was how it was anonymous. There was no return address, and the letter did not reveal who was behind the tournament. Of course, that brought up the question of its authenticity. Could Kaiba be hosing another tournament?

_No,_ I said to myself. I remembered how he made an appearance in Domino City when he announced the beginning of the Battle City tournament. He was also probably still fuming about how he lost in his own tournament last time. He wouldn't be secretive about something like this.

"I bet that creep's still cryin' ova the last one!" Joey exclaimed as I suggested that Kaiba wasn't behind this tournament.

"So then who is?" I asked one of those questions that didn't expect to be answered.

"Well, I guess it's on an island…" Yugi began, "Since it's named Champion Island…"

"Eh, what're we gonna do?" Tristan asked. "Some of here didn't get an invitation!"

It was true as I looked over at him, Tea, and Serenity. They probably weren't invited because they weren't duelists…

"I suppose you guys could sneak in like you did at Duelist Kingdom," Mai suggested.

"Mai, that's too dangerous!" Tea protested. "We almost got caught last time!"

"Aw, what's an adventure without a little bit of fun?" Mai asked with a smile. "But if you don't want to get caught, then there might not be any other way…"

On the morning of our arrival, Tea, Tristan, and Serenity decided to take their chances by just following us. But as I stood on line to the boat, I could see that the guards were verifying the duelists by their invitations. Not a good sign.

Tea panicked as she, too, saw the guards. "Guys, I knew that this wouldn't work!" she cried. "They'll see that we don't have invitations!"

We moved ahead in the line, coming closer to our doom.

"Tea, don't be so loud!" Serenity pleaded. Already people were staring at us, not only because of our defiance to move ahead in the line, but also because of our loud complaining.

But we would reach the guards eventually. They checked Yugi's invitation, then Joey's, Mai's, and finally mine. But I was surprised when the guards took a good look at our friends without invitations and allowed them onto the ship.

As I stepped up the stairs leading into the hallway of the ship, I looked up ahead at my friends, who were in darkness. The entire hallway was pitch-black. I looked back at the guards, and although they were out in the daylight, their faces, too, were shrouded in darkness.

_And a hearty thanks to the reviewers!_

**KatrinaKaiba:** Thanks! I'm trying to take the relationship between the two slow since they're still getting to know one another... and Kaiba won the duel. If Joey had, then I'm sure he would've been rampaging about it somewhere in that chapter :P

**Yun Fei:** Yes, Belinda is an original character, I wanted to develop Kaiba's emotions as realistically as I could, knowing that he doesn't quite have interests in girls at first sight, so he being cold to Belinda at first is his way of being normal, go figure... As for the 'action' part that you're anticipating, that will come soon enough in chapters coming up once the gang realizes the danger they are in with the tournament.

Chapter 6 is coming up next, it's not really a full-length chapter, just a fun chapter while the gang is on board the ship, but it also reveals some of Belinda's feelings about the tourney approaching.


	6. Journey to the Island

**Ambitions from the Heart__**

_Written by: TheDemonHuntress_

****

**Chapter 6: Journey to the Island**

The lights flickered on in the hallway immediately, blinding most of the duelists. I took a quick glance around to see richly decorated wallpaper that lined the walls and numerous doors that went as far as the eyes could see. We were all standing on a bright red carpet that paved the length of the hallway. I was immediately swept up by the elegance of the ship.

A voice was heard over the intercom, but I did not recognize whom it belonged to.

"Welcome, duelists!" it announced. "You are all aboard the _Cambria_, the ship that will bring you to Champion Island, where my tournament will take place. In the meantime, you may all choose your own rooms, and I hope you enjoy your stay! We will arrive at the island in about a day."

Everyone was relatively quiet, letting the speech settle in. But Joey and Tristan were quick to react, with Joey yelling, "Yea! Our own rooms!" before he and Tristan ran off down the hallway and disappeared.

Yugi and I looked at one another, embarrassed by Joey's sudden outburst.

After we found the two, we all booked rooms close to one another. And the rooms were nothing short of the luxury that I had come to expect of anything aboard the ship.

"Hey! This is great, isn't it?" Mai asked, dragging me into the doorway of her room. Her room was nice, only I expressed my opinion to her differently:

"Mai, this looks exactly like my room."

"Huh?!" Mai asked incredulously. She quickly dashed over to my room and compared it to hers. "Oh, I see…"

I laughed. It was funny to see Mai's sudden change in emotions. "Don't worry, at least you know that my room's not better than yours!"

But further down the hallway, I could hear Joey starting up a racket over something. I walked over to him at the end of the hallway, in time to see him arguing with a guard.

"How d'ya expect me to live on this ship without a TV?!" Joey cried in despair.

"Sir, please calm down," the guard replied calmly. "There is-"

"Wait…" Joey interrupted him mid-sentence. "Did you jus call me 'sir'?"

The guard looked annoyed, and did not respond. _This would probably be a good time for Joey to stop talking,_ I thought.

Instead, Tristan was there to save him. "Hey, Joey!" he shouted. "The TV's in the cabinet! Neat, huh?"

Joey blinked once, twice, thrice. "Oh… that's cool…" He was embarrassed, alright.

The guard walked away, still irritated that he had probably wasted his time with Joey, who couldn't think before he acted.

"You've wasted all of our time, Joey," I said. "That guy didn't look too happy…"

"Ah, quiet." Joey shuffled into his room, and, not surprisingly, he turned on the TV and closed the door behind him.

I also wasn't surprised to find that most of our opponents from Battle City had been invited as well. But there was nowhere near the amount of duelists in Duelist Kingdom. Perhaps that was for the better- the competition would now be more fierce.

I looked out my window that night, my eyes being greeted with seawater reflecting the starts above in the great beyond. Waves lapped up against the side of the ship, splashing water onto the decks. The moonlight shining on the sea crated the illusion of the ship plowing through a sea of chrome.

And yet, I still wondered about the tournament that loomed ahead. It seemed so sudden, and I doubted if anyone else I knew was here on this ship. I was thinking about Andrew at the time, but more about Kaiba and Mokuba. If Yugi had been invited, then they certainly were considered top-notch duelists as well.

I slept with ease that night, the gentle rocking motion of the ship and the chronic splashing of waves aboard the ship lulling me to sleep. Who knew what was held in store for me tomorrow? I was headed off to a tournament in which the very host's identity was unknown.

_Thanks again, Yun Fei! Next chapter should be up sometime this week..._


	7. Champion Island

Hehe, hi again everyone! Sorry to take so long to update, school has been starting to drag me down again...

**KatrinaKaiba**: Yes, I'll have a scene just like that... in fact, in this chapter ;)

**Arabella Silverbell**: Thanks!

**darkfarie14**: Well, here you are! Munches on cookie Thanks! Don't get the wrong idea, though... I didn't do it only for the cookie ;)

**Ambitions from the Heart**

****

_Written by: TheDemonHuntress_

****

**Chapter 7: Champion Island**

No one could've asked for a more perfect day to begin a tournament on. The sun shone like a blazing torch lit afire up above. The sky stretched for great expanses, maintaining a luscious blue tinge throughout, with an absence of any clouds. Yet it was not too warm, with a constant breeze playing through my hair.

The whole gang woke up early, with early, with the exception of Joey who snoozed until everyone was loading off the ship.

My heart was pounding as I took my first glance at the island. Although the duelist population was smaller than that of Duelist Kingdom's, the island was definitely larger.

It didn't seem to have many inhabitants before us, so the only buildings that I caught sight of were those of restaurants and lodgings. Most of the island looked as if it were specified to a certain playing filed, whereas in Duelist Kingdom, it varied according to the natural environment.

As we exited the ship, my heart skipped a beat as I caught sight of Kaiba exited from another way out farther down on the ship. But I wanted to keep my distance from him after our last encounter, in case I caught him in a bad mood again.

If I was so frightened of him, then why did I still like him? Perhaps it was because of his looks, which could overlook his personality. After all, if you first looked at him, wouldn't you be more captivated by his looks, since they were the first thing that you laid eyes on? This was how I felt about him.

Kaiba began to walk towards our direction, and I turned away so that he wouldn't catch me gaping at him. Why did he always have to come near us?

"Looks like he knows how to put money to good use," he mumbled under his breath as he approached.

"Eh, what's that, Moneybags?" Joey asked suspiciously.

"What I meant to say, Mutt, is that I helped to fund this tournament," Kaiba replied with a smirk.

"So are you the host of the tournament?" Yugi asked.

"No. Just consider that it was part of some business plans of mine. Of course, something too complicated for dogs like the mutt here to understand…"

"Just explain, rich boy!"

"I've never seen mutts lost their temper so quickly—"

"Get on with it!"

I glared at Joey. It was not smart to test Kaiba like that.

Kaiba's smirk grew wider. "As you probably know, I've invented a new dueling prototype, the DuelPort. The host of this tournament offered to showcase it in this tournament in exchange for funds for the competition."

"That's no big secret," Joey said sheepishly.

Kaiba walked away then, having spent enough time with us. But his answer to Joey's question only deepened my curiosity in who the host of the tournament was. It was someone willing to promote Kaiba's technology… or was it? The wealth of the guy could impress anyone.

"It says here that we compete in this tournament with marbles," Yugi stated, reading from a guidebook. "So that's what the pouches we got were for…

"We start out with two marbles, and get into the finals with eight."

"Like the usual," Mai commented. "So when do we get to kick some butt?"

"Starting tomorrow, it says," Yugi answered. "Tonight there's going to be a welcome banquet and a dance, also."

"You don't say!" Mai exclaimed. "This host guy might be secretive and all, but he's got a sense of style!"

Oh, my god. Why couldn't it just be a dinner? Why was there also a dance?! Now Mai and Tea are going to make my life miserable somehow…

Mai already had that I'm-thinking-of-a-plan-of-doom expression on her face. Well, that left me really looking forward to tonight…

Evening 

"Mai, NO!" I shouted as she asked if I wanted to dance with Kaiba.

"Aw, why not?" she asked. "If you love him, then why not?"

"Stop it! I don't love-even like him!"

Mai sighed. "You're so stubborn sometimes, y'know… Want to go and get a drink?" I failed to notice a wink she passed at Tea.

"Fine."

We walked over to the table, and guess who else I saw there? Yep, it was _him_. Obviously something else that was not coincidental?

"Mai, can we go now?" I whispered. But I looked at where Kaiba had been, and he wasn't there.

So instead of actually getting a drink, I turned to go back to our table, and—smack. Ran right into him. Oh god, why did this have to happen right now? Why did it have to happen at all?!

I shuddered at the thought of having him look at me like an idiot, so I backed away from him slowly, ever so slowly.

I heard Mai laugh in the background, and it seemed that the only things that existed now were Kaiba and I.

I looked up at Kaiba, and only then was I struck by how tall he really was. And he looked down at me and just smirked. One of those smirks that was evil as hell, but also sexy at the same time.

"Why, it's Miss Lee," he began. "Always seemingly finding herself near me."

I blushed furiously, not because of how damn hot he looked that night in his blindingly flashy silver trench coat, but because of the truthfulness in his statement.

"If you're trying to s-say that I'm following you a-around, then you're wrong!" Gosh, I was stammering when I talked to him? I could also see the glares that nearly every girl in the room gave me. They all wanted to get close to Kaiba, but to actually talk to him? Even that seemed like an impossible dream to them. And what I wanted to tell all of them was that I did not want to be in front of him right now!

"I think that you'd have to try to avoid me," he replied.

"You're-you're so vain!" I cried. It was getting to embarrassing, that I decided to turn my back on him and return to Yugi's table.

But as I turned around, I felt his hand grab around my waist and pull me back. He was so strong that I couldn't do anything. I was horrified.

"I thought you wanted to dance," he said, keeping his evil smirk intact.

I breathed the color red. Of course I wanted to dance with him. I just didn't expect him to bring it up so suddenly.

"I never said such a thing," I told him.

He sighed. "You didn't have to tell me for me to know." And although I didn't want to in front of so many people, I let him bring me to the dance platform and he held me close to him. I gasped for air.

"That Tenderness card was very clever," he said as the music started. "It takes out most of the guesswork in things…"

The way he said 'things' made me think that he couldn't say the word 'love'. And I was so close to fainting at that moment that I wasn't trying to actually dance with him. But his grace and smoothness surprised me.

Kaiba closed his eyes briefly, signaling how oblivious he was to everyone watching us. Practically no one else was dancing. Everyone was watching. I wouldn't mind swapping places with any other girl in the room; only then would they experience my torment.

"Of course it wasn't the card that I found interesting," he continued. "Like I said, it's the thought-written out on paper- that counts.

He spun me around, and I found myself staring into those beautiful cerulean orbs. Of course, that took my breath away.

"And what did it say on the card?" I asked hesitantly.

"It said that you were… interested in me."

I stopped in my tracks. It was insane, having him know that I liked him.

"My friends wrote that… it doesn't mean that it's true."

I covered my face with my hands and turned away. Blushing was evil!

I looked down at the ground so that he would not see my face. "Thank you," I whispered. Indeed, Kaiba had really filled my heart with joy tonight.

But he did not let go of me. Instead, he bent down and gently kissed me. A magical kiss.

Yet I knew that it wasn't genuine once he stood back up and smirked again.

"Because you wanted me to," he answered the invisible question that I had not yet asked before he left to go, brushing me with his trench coat.

Was I perhaps blinded by his actions? Tonight I had overlooked his smirks with the dance and the controversial kiss.

Once again, everyone's eyes were on me. But I wanted to be along. I walked away into the hallway, consumed by its darkness, which could hide my face, my feelings…

my love.

_Well, was it good? Bad? Too soon? Please tell me! Hopefully I'll update soon!_


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